die oervlakte offers the traveller vistas of unsurpassed visual landscapes which only the Cape Fold Mountains and fertile valleys in all their splendour can offer.

Saturday, 5 May 2012

Investigating de Rust April 2012

de Rust lies nestled close to the foot of the Swartberg Mountians on the southern end of Meiringspoort, the gateway from the Little Karoo to the Great Karoo. I went to have a look at what is not obvious on a first visit to the town with its characteristic white-washed Karoo-style houses with gables and green and red roofs sheltering the large street-facing stops from the fierce summer sun. I always start off with coffee at The Village Trading Post, enjoying the interesting conversation and often meeting some fascinating traveller passing through or a farmer from the area.

Some of the historic houses

The Dutch Reformed Church Hall, built in 1908

Due to lack of funds, the parsonage was constructed in 1903 without a foundation. Ds. J.P. Burger was fetched from the le Roux railway station with great fanfare on 24 November 1905 and received into the new congregation.

The old boarding school in Hoop Street was built in 1915

The Schoeman Gallery, also known as Robertson House, was built during the ostrich boom in 1903

The Village Trading Post and Riverside Accommodation offers guests a unique caravan experience, beautifully renovated and situated in a fascinating garden.

Die Kraaltjie, a coffee shop in the main street, has an array of interesting and fascinating 1950's garden gnomes and decoration

The Hotel in de Rust is an enigmatic building, its balconies festooned with plants, sculptures and gnomes with strange expressions.

The old cemetery lies at the top of a hill just outside town with some interesting inscriptions

Donkey carts are seen often in de Rust with families going about their business transporting people or goods.

I drove out of de Rust, inspired and refreshed with more than enough to think about. Should I overnight in the hotel next time, or in the caravan?
de Rust is well worth a visit for any traveller passing through. It is filled with old world charm, the people fascinating and interesting, the coffee and food good where you see the cockerel!